Every gamer with kids, a partner, housemates, or a combination of the three will understand the importance of owning a headset. It’s simple: Not everyone around you wants to hear continuous gunfire or engines revving. Nor should they have to. Plus, online gaming is dull without voice chat. How are your mates going to know that they suck if you can’t continuously remind them?

Recon 70 is the latest headset from Turtle Beach, and it’s built for the average gamer. This entry-level headset is lightweight and comfortable, even while wearing glasses. It’s designed for hours-long gaming sessions. The headband and over-ear cushions offer a tight fit and are padded and wrapped in synthetic leather. A small volume dial is found on the back of the left-hand side. What’s surprising is that I found Recon 70 to be more comfortable for long sessions than my $250 Sennheiser headphones which had previously doubled as a gaming headset.

Recon 70’s design is not sleek or subtle. Turtle Beach wants everyone to know that this is a gaming headset with its bold two-tone colours, solid profile and tapered edges. No one could mistake this headset for anything else.

The 40mm speakers are more than capable of delivering crisp highs and deep bass. In Battlefield V, bullets and explosions are delivered with the impact that was always intended. The quality reproduction of distant gunfire and droning of the tanks in-ear is a solid indication that this budget headset offers better sound fidelity than expected.

Recon 70 may not reach the highs of more expensive rigs, with larger drivers and 7.1 surround sound, but its ability to reproduce attention to detail should help immerse players into any game world. In God of War, the environmental details like weather effects, waves crashing and distant seagull cries could almost trick you into thinking surround sound was an active feature.

Recon 70 does not offer active noise cancellation but still does a decent job of blocking out sounds. Surround sound is only available to Xbox One and Windows 10 users through the Windows Sonic app and Dolby Atmos.

The microphone flips up to mute. It doesn’t bend or flex, just folds straight up and down, returning to the active position. Player voices come through clear (or at least as clear as possible with modern consoles). Nor did friends ever ask me to repeat anything.

Recon 70 is not wireless. The 3.5mm connection makes it easy to swap between PS4, Xbox One, Switch and PC. Recon 70 is compatible with any controller’s audio input or any device that hasn’t ditched the headphone jack. The cable is short enough that it won’t get caught on anything and long enough that you can sit comfortably. I would have liked either the 3.5mm cable to detach or the headset to fold up for neater storage, but it’s certainly no deal breaker.

Turtle Beach’s Recon 70 proves that owning a quality headset doesn’t have to break the bank. It’s comfortable and powerful enough to satisfy the casual gamer. eSports athletes and hard-core gamers may opt for something more elite, but for the extremely affordable price point of $59.95, Recon 70 surpasses expectations.

Turtle Beach Recon 70 is available now in select colours with several more launching in May for a total of six colourways.